I like these two. At the moment I am loving the permanent grey. I have permanent blue by Montblanc as well. You need to clean your pen more often but I like the fact that it is permanent.
I very seldom use black ink but I like grey-black ink and blue-black ink.
I bought the Permanent Grey when I had my Grandfather’s fountain pen restored last year. The pen is a gold Mabie Swan, patented 1915. He got it when he went to Europe in the AIF during the First World War, so the pen is close to 100 years old. I wanted an ink with a certain level of gravitas, that had an antique feel about it, so not black, and I think this one captures my feelings when I write with his pen. I never knew him, as he died from complications of his injuries before my parents met, and the small act of using something so intimate (he wrote love letters to my grandmother during the war) makes him feel more real to me.
Oh Thea what a wonderful story. Thank you for sharing xx
I am using the Montblanc grey in a Duke Chaplin fountain pen, lovely! It is the only grey in my ink collection, must look for more.